


I Just Wanna Give You Love

by lululawrence



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Famous Harry Styles, Fluff, M/M, No Smut, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, Singer Harry Styles, Soulmates, Tumblr, famous/non-famous, it's not a huge plot point but it is in there so here we go, the world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 02:39:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: Graham Norton appeared on the screen introducing his guests and out of nowhere, everything in Louis’ world was turned upside down.Louis gasped as he intently took in the man on the screen, smiling and waving from his seat beside Sir Ian McKellen.“Oh my God,” Louis said before it all sank in as to what it meant. “Holy fucking shit!”“Louis William, you watch your mouth,” Jay said. “What has got into you?”Feeling like a madman, his palms to his cheeks, Louis couldn’t help the tears of surprise, relief, and fear as he turned to his mum. “What colour are his eyes? What do you call that colour?”“Louis, are you telling me that the man on the screen, Harry Styles, is your soulmate?”Or the one where the world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate, but Harry is world famous and Louis is...well...not.





	I Just Wanna Give You Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cherrylarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrylarry/gifts).



> [Nikee](http://allthelarrylovex.tumblr.com)! Your fic is finally here, after teasing you fairly relentlessly for a month or so haha Thank you so much for being patient and so kind and excited for it! I hope this fic is everything you wanted it to be. I had so much fun writing it and am so glad to finally be able to share it with you now. Especially if the 28th time is finally the fucking charm.
> 
> This fic was also written as part of the [1D Fanworks for Charity](http://1dfanworksforcharity.tumblr.com). It was such an honor to be able to write and help raise money for charity. Thank you for [Lauren](http://fullonlarrie.tumblr.com) for organizing it all!
> 
> I have so many thank yous to give now! Massive thanks to all of the many people who cheerleaded for me and kept me excited about this as I went. Thank you as well to my amazing betas, [ and ](http://briannamarguerite.tumblr.com)[Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com), and to [KK](http://catfishau.tumblr.com) for the Brit Pick! This fic would not be done or as pretty as as it is without them. Please note, though, that all remaining mistakes are absolutely my own.
> 
> The fic idea came from a post I'm sure many of you know about regarding what it might be like in a world where everything is black and white until you see your soulmate and it got me thinking about what might happen in a world where one of them is famous and how that would complicate things and now here we are :D I hope you love it as I do! 
> 
> Also before I forget, the Tumblr URLs mentioned in here were blank or unused at the time of writing, so just bear that in mind :D
> 
> The title comes from Jessie Ware's _Thinking About You_ , which I love and listened to at times while writing. Please don't share this fic with anyone related to the boys, it is a work of fiction, all words are my own, etc etc etc. Enjoy!

From the beginning of time there were soulmates. People lived their lives never fully comprehending what they were missing in a world filled with varying shades of grey until the day they saw their soulmate and the world suddenly burst into a riot of colour.

In some ways, Harry supposed it was easier in the old days before technology had come on the scene. You either saw your soulmate or you didn’t. There weren’t any in betweens or halfways. Not like now.

Photographs apparently weren’t enough to cause the change. In some ways that was lucky. Harry could only imagine the lengths some people would go through to simply look at all the photos possible in yearbooks from all across the world if that were the case.

Films and TV _could_ though. Which proved a bit of a problem for him. It did for most people in the entertainment industry, particularly if they hadn’t found their soulmate yet.

Most lied and said they’d found their soulmate and had someone pretend to be their soulmate until their true soulmate was found. It was common enough that it was basically understood to be that way. Harry, though, had got into the industry at only sixteen. It was young to have someone contractually obligated to be with him for the foreseeable future just to keep people from coming and claiming they were his soulmate.

In came Liam. Liam was Harry’s best mate and his personal assistant. He was the perfect stand in for Harry since he was a similar age and fans could speculate that perhaps _he_ was Harry’s soulmate. That idea was ridiculous to anyone who met them, but it was a good safety net to have.

Liam was also one of the few people who knew everything about Harry regarding his soulmate, or the lack thereof so far. It was nice to have someone to talk to, because there weren’t many he could go to who weren’t related to him.

Harry’s team had built the perfect image for him. He kept his personal life personal. He would speak about his immediate family and growing up, but past that he wouldn’t go into anything regarding relationships. If soulmates were even inferred, the interview would be stopped immediately, whether live or not, and they would never be scheduled to speak with Harry again. As one of the biggest names in music for the past eight years, no members of the press wanted to chance that.

Harry’s band coddled him a bit, because of all of it. They knew how much of a romantic Harry was and how much he wished for his soulmate, but at the same time it might be best this way. His life was so crazy, he didn’t know how he would add in another person.

Harry sighed, and leaned back into Mitch’s embrace. His fame had brought Mitch his soulmate in Harry’s drummer, Sarah. At least Harry could feel good about that, even if he felt more alone every day that went on without his soulmate, at least he knew that thanks to him others had found theirs. He would have to let that console him for the time being.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Mum! I’m here!” Louis called as he tossed his rucksack on the floor by the door. He loved Friday film nights with his mum and oldest sisters, but he’d missed the last several thanks to work picking up. The papers needed to be marked at some point and Friday night was an easy time to do so, but all the same. He was so glad to be able to get back into the routine.

“We’re about to turn on the film, you got here right in time.”

Louis walked in and threw himself down on the sofa beside his mum. Fizzy was sprawled on the recliner, but someone was still missing.

“Where’s Lottie?” Louis asked as his mum gave him a kiss on his hair.

“She’s out with some friends. Too good for us, I guess,” Fizzy answered as she turned on the telly.

Graham Norton appeared on the screen introducing his guests and out of nowhere, everything in Louis’ world was turned upside down.

Louis gasped as he intently took in the man on the screen, smiling and waving from his seat beside Sir Ian McKellen.

His hair was rich and shiny and curly. His eyes were more beautiful than the grey of the photos ever allowed Louis to imagine. His skin was practically glowing in the newfound shade of colour Louis had never seen before. His suit was black, just like Louis thought, but with vividly coloured dragons stitched on them. Louis wondered what they looked like to Fizzy.

“Oh my God,” Louis said before it all sank in as to what it meant. “Holy fucking shit!”

Louis jumped up and started pacing the room, gripping his hair as he randomly turned to the screen to see if he could see Harry - his _soulmate._

“Louis, what’s going on? And watch your language,” Jay chided.

Paying hardly any attention to his mum, Louis pointed in Fizzy’s direction and said, “Don’t you dare turn this off. We are watching the entire bloody thing. Oh God. Oh shit. Fucking hell.”

“Louis William, you watch your mouth,” Jay said once more. “What has got into you?”

Feeling like a madman, his palms to his cheeks, Louis couldn’t help the tears of surprise, relief, and fear as he turned to his mum. “What colour are his eyes? What do you call that colour?”

The camera had panned out by now, and his mum was obviously confused. “Who’s eyes, darling?”

“Harry’s. They’re beautiful. So much better than I thought after seeing his photos on the girls’ walls.”

Jay’s eyes were wide and her hand was covering her mouth as she watched Louis. He couldn’t keep his back to the screen, though. Not when there was the chance of seeing his soulmate again.

He had heard of Harry, of course, and seen his face on the front of nearly every magazine and tabloid out there as well as hanging on the walls of his sisters’ bedrooms. He was somewhat familiar with at least one or two of his songs as well and did enjoy them, but holy shit. He’d never imagined Harry might be his soulmate.

“Louis, are you telling me that the man on the screen, Harry Styles, is your soulmate?”

Nodding, Louis watched as Harry laughed and laid his head on Sir Ian’s shoulder. Would Harry do that with Louis someday?

“How are you going to meet him so he knows?” Fizzy asked.

It was then that the excitement within Louis began to deflate. How _would_ he meet Harry?

“Louis, love, please come sit back down.”

The colours began to swirl and hurt his head a little, but they were already fading a bit. Most people experienced vivid colors when they first presented and then their vision returned almost back to greys. The colours would only become fully saturated and permanent with direct eye contact. Simply watching Harry on a screen wasn’t going to be enough to keep the colours bright for Louis, which was fine. He didn’t want a headache as his eyes adjusted. The gradual build would be best anyway, if he could ever get to that point.

Finally following his mum’s direction, Louis sat down and leaned into her so she could cuddle him. He felt like he’d found his soulmate only to be told he’d never get to actually be with him. It was devastating, honestly.

“We’ll figure it out. I promise,” she said gently as she pet his hair.

“Mum. He’s incredibly famous. How often do you suppose people come forward claiming he’s their soulmate?” Louis was getting more dejected the more he thought about it. “It’s got to happen at least a few times every day. How am I supposed to show that I’m different? I’m the real thing?”

“Want to skip out and go see Niall? We won’t blame you if you do,” Jay offered.

All Louis had wanted today was a quiet night in with his mum and sisters, but now what he needed was his best friend. Niall always knew what to do in the craziest situations.

“Yeah. I think I do.”

Within twenty minutes of getting to his mum’s house, Louis was already gone again, on his way to his flat and best friend to figure out what the hell he was going to do. Once he arrived home, though, he looked and saw a text waiting from his mum. All it said was _Harry’s eyes are green._

 

*~~***~~*

 

“I feel weird, Liam. But not in a bad way. What does that mean?”

Liam did the thing with his eyebrows that meant he was probably trying to arch one at Harry and failing. “Weird how?”

Harry shrugged. It had started up while they were finishing the run-through of the full set and had faded a bit since, but it was still there. “It’s like...almost like a fizzing energy under my skin? It’s almost like how I feel when I’m about to be sick over getting on stage, but much more warm. A good fizzing, not a bad one.”

Liam just stared, and Harry knew he wasn’t making any sense.

“You think I’ve finally gone crazy, don’t you?”

“No!” Liam rushed to reassure him. “No. I just also don’t have a clue what you’re talking about either.”

“Sounds to me like your soulmate might have finally seen you tonight.” Adam’s voice was quiet but still surprised Harry. He thought everyone had already left to go home for the night. Tour started in a matter of days and Harry knew most of them were trying to spend as much time with family as they could. Rehearsals were almost to the point of doing full tech run-throughs, which always got stressful and intense, but that meant they needed their time at home with their loved ones even more.

Turning to look at his bassist, Harry smiled. “What do you mean? This could be a soulmate thing?”

Adam nodded and picked up the jacket Harry hadn’t even noticed he’d left on the chair in the corner. “Emi saw me before I saw her, and it was like my soul knew I’d been seen and my soulmate had figured it out. It was like...I could feel the excitement she felt even though I didn’t know who she was yet.”

Harry was nodding more and more fervently as Adam went on. “Yes, that’s exactly it! Oh my God. My soulmate isn’t on the crew, though. I’d met them all before tonight and no one else was here. How would they have seen me?”

Adam shrugged. “Your soulmate might have been watching us on TV. Graham Norton was on again tonight. Emi sent me a photo of the telly since she was surprised by the repeat.” Giving one more smile before walking back to the door, Adam said, “Keep an eye out. I bet they’re going to be doing everything they can to be close to you so you can find them as well.”

Taking a big breath, Harry nodded and thanked Adam again before turning back to Liam. “This could actually be happening, Liam. I might be finding my soulmate.” Harry was excited, but also nervous about the idea. He’d spent so much time, energy, and effort in covering up the fact that he didn’t have one that now the time was possibly here for learning who his soulmate was, he felt a little overwhelmed. Scared. Curious, but also worried. What would they think of him as their soulmate?

“I hope you do,” Liam said, earnestly.

Liam had found his soulmate when he was still in primary school. He and Zayn were a package deal the entire time Harry had known them, and Liam only wanted the best for Harry. Because he and Zayn found each other so young, though, Liam sometimes found it difficult to understand Harry and where he was coming from. He did his best, though.

“Thanks, Li. Go ahead and get home to Zayn. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Liam leaned forward and gave Harry a hug before standing up and leaving. Harry looked around and found his bag waiting for him. He should get home as well. He just didn’t really want to return to his empty flat when he knew there was a possibility of his soulmate having seen him tonight. Harry hoped it wouldn’t be long before Harry would set eyes on them as well.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Niall, where are you?”

There weren’t really many options for where Niall could be hiding, but Louis had just woken up from where he had apparently passed out on the couch last night. He wished he was surprised, but after drinking a few beers with Niall while lamenting how unfortunate it was that his soulmate was fucking famous it did kind of make sense.

Actually. Now that he thought about it, he’d always assumed the couch they had was the same colour as an apple or a cherry. It was the same shade of grey before he had his colors show up. He was happy to see it was a pretty green, a bit darker than Harry’s eyes.

“Fuck off, I hate you. Let me sleep.” Niall’s groan was muffled but clearly coming from his room.

Louis heaved himself up off the couch and after taking a quick wee, he wandered into Niall’s room and slid into bed beside him.

“Niall, I need a plan,” Louis murmured into Niall’s shoulder. He wrapped himself around his best friend like a koala and, luckily, Niall didn’t fight it. “I need to find a way to get him to see me too.”

Louis felt Niall’s shoulder move underneath his cheek as he shifted himself a little to get more comfortable in the cuddle. Niall was a good mate.

“If I remember correctly, we already came up with the bare bones last night.”

Opening his mouth to respond, Louis paused and closed it again. Had they? Most of what he remembered was just whining, but maybe Niall had been offering up ideas while Louis’ brain was too focused on the impossibility of the situation.

Heaving a sigh, Niall rolled over so he was facing Louis and snuggled up into his chest. Once comfortable he said, “We’re going to see if we can ask people for early Christmas and birthday gifts for us since this is obviously a big deal as well as all of our savings. I know we don’t have much, but we’ve got enough to get us to most of his shows in the UK as well as down to London for some of the interviews he’ll be recording if we happen to be able to get tickets to those.”

Louis blinked. “That’s a good idea,” he said. “I don’t think the filming will be worth much, though. You never know where you’ll be seated and the seats are rarely close enough for the audience to see those being interviewed clearly, much less the other way around. I need him to know who I am when he sees me, if possible.”

“Mmkay,” Niall agreed. “Just tour dates. I need to figure out if the aisle down the middle of the floor to the B Stage is a catwalk or if he just walks down the floor. If we can’t get pit tickets, we could at least try for seats along the walkway or right in front of B Stage. I feel like there’s a decent chance of his seeing us there as well.”

Niall really had not only started brainstorming a plan, but had done some research while Louis had been completely oblivious last night. He didn’t deserve such a great best mate.

“You’re amazing, Niall,” he said, moving to softly scratch Niall’s back just how he liked. “How long do we have until Harry’s UK dates?”

“He kicks off tour in Europe before coming here, so I think about a month. I thought if we got lucky funds-wise we could possibly try getting to one or two of those shows, but didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

“Okay. You’re off today, right?”

“Just until six. I’ve got the late shift at the bar. I already reached out asking for as many extra shifts as I could get to help pay for all this concert shit we’re about to do.”

Louis smiled and squeezed Niall as tight as he could until Niall bit him in retaliation.

“Ouch!” Louis cried. “I was showing you how much I love you, dickhead!”

“Fuck off, so was I. I just would prefer to be able to breathe as well.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Louis said as Niall rolled out of his embrace and stood up to stretch. “I could go it alone and you could save your money and not worry about it.”

“Oh yeah, sure. I’ll just let you fend for yourself in a sea of women while trying to catch the eye of your heartthrob soulmate.”

Shit. He was right. Louis was going to willingly put himself in with loads of people, mostly women, wanting to get close to the man on stage. Every time he thought about something like that, he felt himself waver, but not for long. It was ridiculous and nearly impossible, but he knew he had to try.

“Alright, get up,” Niall said as he ripped the duvet off Louis. “If you aren’t letting me sleep you aren’t staying in my bed either. Let’s get to work.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry listened to the crowd and jumped up and down backstage before closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. He was so happy to be back in England. He loved traveling and touring, especially hearing the different languages and yet knowing they still came to seem him. It gave him a thrill that he knew he couldn’t replicate any other way.

But still. There was something about performing at home. Birmingham was his welcome back to England after a month away and then his three shows he considered _truly_ home: Manchester and the two in London.

Harry stepped out on stage and waited for the screens to lift. The lights, the fog, and his band’s instrumentation had his heart beat thrumming through his entire body and he felt his stage persona slip into place.

It was time to perform.

He walked forward, already dancing and waving and cheering as his band finished the intro to _Only Angel._ Everything was going smoothly, as smoothly as he could have hoped for, when he looked down to his left during a break in his singing and it felt like a physical jolt.

Colours. Holy shit, there were colours everywhere. It was almost overwhelming. He had no idea this was what it would be like.

 _Oh God_ and _holy fucking shit_ were on repeat in Harry’s head as he went to autopilot just to finish the song. The first song during his first show home in England and he saw his soulmate.

But who was it?

Harry kept singing and did his very best to act natural. Luckily he had formed a rhythm for his little talking points between songs so he could rely on that as he searched manically through the pit on stage left. It had to be someone in there, because that’s where he’d been looking when it had happened. Shit, he really had no idea which person, though.

Somehow, Harry made it through the rest of the show, but he knew he was definitely acting strange. Mitch had sent him worried glances through the entire thing and Clare was practically staring holes into him when usually she was as happy and effusive on stage as Harry was. Hopefully the audience wasn’t picking up on it, though.

Racing off stage to take a quick breather before his last three songs, Harry gripped Liam’s shoulders. “I _have_ to talk to you after this. Just us. No one else.”

Liam’s eyes were wide and concerned. “Everyone’s trying to figure out what happened, H. You were fine before the concert started and almost immediately you went all weird. Are you okay?”

Harry laughed, somewhat hysterically, before grabbing a water bottle and taking a quick drink before going back for _From the Dining Table._

“I’m great!” he said with a wide grin, and then ran back on stage to finish the concert.

Harry always loved the last two songs of the night. The crowd always danced and sang as hard as he did, and it was the best experience bonding with the audience like that.

Tonight, the arena was on fire, and so was Harry. All his excitement, all his frustration over not knowing who his soulmate was, Harry put into _The Chain_ and _Kiwi._ Whatever vibe Harry was giving off, the crowd was throwing right back to him and he had a blast. Giving wide smiles to the rest of his band as they took their bows and he ran off stage was almost cathartic and exactly what he needed to talk more with Liam.

Harry got off stage only to find Liam on the phone in the dressing room. Harry changed out of his suit and into his trackies and a t-shirt, all while his mind was reeling. It didn’t even feel real that he’d seen his soulmate, but at every turn Harry was taken off guard by another colour that caught his eye. He was so glad there were stylists who made their livings helping people make sure their clothing matched. Harry had always thought his phone case matched his rucksack, but it turned out while they were the same shade of grey they were absolutely different colours.

When he was finished with a basic wipe down and changing, he walked back out into the main room to find Liam looking apologetic.

No. He didn’t want Liam looking at him like that. That always meant he couldn’t do what Harry wanted him to, and in this case Harry didn’t know who else he would talk to. Who he would want to talk to. This was so big and scary and after all the time and effort and energy that had been put into hiding the face he hadn’t found his soulmate, Harry wanted to keep this to a select few at first. But outside of Liam, who did he want those few to be?

“Listen, I’m so sorry,” Liam said, bringing Harry back out of his quickly escalating inner monologue. “I know you need to talk, but my dad just called. My mum fell and was taken to hospital, they think she broke her leg. I’m going to go see her while I can since we’re heading up to Manchester tomorrow and this is the closest I’ll be to them.”

Harry’s heart sank a little. He was really hoping to talk to Liam about finding his soulmate - or at least _kind of_ finding them - but this was important.

Liam was apologetic, but as always, he had a plan in place already. “I checked your schedule and you don’t have anything until some phone interviews tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come to you in the morning and we can talk everything over before having to join your team for interview preparations and the drive to Manchester, okay?”

Harry nodded. He could hold out for a few hours to talk to Liam. He felt like his blood was still thrumming with adrenaline, but he knew physically he would be ready to crash as soon as he was near a bed. Maybe being on his own in his hotel room would give him time to figure out who he was ready to trust with this information. After all, it would conceivably change almost everything. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone who knew the truth about his lack of a soulmate up to this point, because he could only imagine what his team would try to do and publish and such, which would make the entire process far too public for Harry’s liking, but he also knew he had to do whatever he could to try and figure out who exactly it had been in the pit that night that had sparked his colours. Harry had to hope in the meantime that his soulmate would be doing their best to get to him as well, therefore offering Harry another chance.

“Yeah, of course. Give Karen and Geoff hugs for me, alright? I hope she’s okay.”

Liam came over and hugged Harry tightly. “I’m sure she’s fine, but she gets rattled easily, you know. So does my dad. I’ll go and calm them down and they’ll be fine by morning.” Pulling back, Liam studied Harry’s face. “What you want to talk to me about isn’t bad, right?”

Harry chuckled and pushed Liam away from him. “No, it’s quite good, I think.” Harry almost gave a hint, but the door opened and several crew members came in to start breaking down his dressing room as well. “Night, Li.”

Liam bid him goodnight as well and soon Harry was left to his own thoughts.

He’d seen his soulmate, but he still had some finding to do.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Well, I guess he didn’t see me, but the concert really was amazing,” Louis said as he gathered his things from where he’d stashed them for the concert. “I don’t know how my sisters didn’t convince me to try to see him before.”

He’d expected Niall to say something, so when he was quiet, Louis turned and found him standing stock still, staring at a small brunette who was staring right back.

The pit was clearing out quickly as everyone rushed to get home, but Niall paid no attention to them and Louis was confused.

“They don’t ever really tell you what to say when you finally meet each other, do they?” the woman asked and Niall shook his head slowly.

“They really don’t.”

Louis looked back and forth between them and kept waiting for something more to happen. When nothing did, Louis cleared his throat and said, “So, security is probably going to kick us out of here soon so we should probably…”

Niall’s head snapped towards Louis, and a blinding grin broke out. “Louis! Yeah, we should get out of here, but fuck, Lou. She’s my...my…”

“Soulmate, obviously,” the girl finished.

“You’re American?” Louis asked as the three of them headed towards the nearest exit. “What brings you to Birmingham?”

“Harry, of course,” she said with a grin. “I’m actually going to be studying in London for the next few years, but my courses don’t start up until September, so I came early to get to know the city and follow Harry’s tour around as much as I can.”

Niall turned to her excitedly and said, “We’re trying to attend all the UK dates as well!”

The girl’s face lit up and she asked, “You two are pretty big fans then, huh?”

At that, Niall paused and turned to Louis. “Well, we’re kind of fans...new fans?” Niall’s face was contorting with the effort it was taking him to find the best way to explain what they were doing without blurting it out to everyone surrounding them still.

“I’ll explain once we’re somewhere a bit more quiet,” Louis promised before pushing Niall lightheartedly. “So, Niall’s soulmate. What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Hailee. And you’re Louis, I think. What’s...your name?” The woman’s face scrunched up in a way that made Louis laugh. It reminded him a lot of his sisters when they were embarrassed. “That’s so weird that I have to ask that. You’re my soulmate and I don’t even know your name.”

“Fuck, sorry. I’m Niall.”

The three of them continued to chat as they made their way to Hailee’s car. The boys had planned to drive up to Manchester tonight and stay with one of Louis’ friends, but Hailee offered to let them sleep on the second bed in her hotel room.

“My dad’s in the business, so I get super cheap rates at really nice places,” she explained nonchalantly. “God, the colours are incredible, aren’t they? What do you think that car’s colour is called?”

Louis looked and saw she was pointing at a bright yellow car and he laughed. “That’s definitely yellow.”

Hailee turned wide eyes on Louis then. “You’ve found your soulmate too? Oh God, I’m so excited for you! Do they not like Harry? Is that why you’re here with Niall?”

“I sure hope he likes Harry,” Niall laughed as they buckled in and Hailee pulled out to join the queue to get out of the car park.

Louis kicked the back of Niall’s seat. “Shut up.”

“Shit, Lou! What colour is my shirt? I love this colour. I want everything in this colour.”

“It’s green,” Louis answered before adding on, “It’s a little darker than Harry’s eyes.” Cause apparently Louis can’t help but give that kind of unwarranted information now. Excellent.

“Wait, your shirt looks like something other than grey?” Hailee asked, confused. She kept glancing over at it in an attempt to see it in the poor lighting. “I thought it was just grey.”

“No, my shirt is definitely not grey. Yours is though, right? Like, the flowers are a really pale grey?”

Louis looked at Hailee’s shirt and could see the bold orange floral print in a passing street light.

“No...Mine’s...like a dark yellow or something?”

“Orange,” Louis filled in for them. “You can’t see orange, Ni? And Hailee can’t see green? That’s...so weird…”

“Maybe how ours works is the colors fade in colour by colour?” Niall suggested. “I’ve...never really heard of this happening before.”

“Me neither,” Hailee mused as she continued following the SatNav. “We’ll have to figure out exactly what you’re seeing versus what I’m seeing when we have better lighting at the hotel. Anyway, Louis tell me about your soulmate! Niall said he earlier, so it’s a man?”

“Uh, yeah,” Louis said, feeling awkward. He’d not had to explain everything to anyone other than his mum, Fizzy, and Niall. Considering Hailee was a virtual stranger, he wasn’t sure how to say it other than to just blurt it out. “My soulmate is Harry.”

“Oh, Harry’s a popular name tonight,” Hailee said cheerfully. “Is that why he didn’t come? He’s a fan but doesn’t like sharing a name with a musician you’re obviously a big fan of?”

“No, like. That Harry is Louis’ Harry,” Niall said. “The one we saw tonight on the stage playing guitar and all that shit. He’s Louis’ soulmate. We’re going to all the shows in an attempt for Harry to see Louis and learn about him too.”

“Holy shit,” Hailee said loudly. “Holy fucking shit! Are you serious? Oh my God. I can’t even...oh my God! Louis! How awesome is that?!”

Hailee started nearly screaming as she pulled into the car park for the hotel, and Louis was incredibly glad they’d arrived. He was starting to worry about Hailee’s control of the vehicle under the revelation of not only her own soulmate but also Louis’.

Once the car was turned off, Hailee turned in her seat. “I can’t believe I’ll have my soulmate and Harry’s soulmate with me in my hotel room tonight. This is fucking madness!”

Louis smiled weakly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

They hurried up to the room after that because Hailee could hardly contain herself.

“Okay, so where are your seats for Manchester?” she asked. “If they aren’t good enough I’m going to see if I can ask around Tumblr to see what’s available. We have to get you two good seats so Harry can see you.”

“We’re pit again for Manchester, this time on the other side of the stage I think. We haven’t been able to get tickets for the first London show yet, but we’ve got seats right by the catwalk for night two. For Glasgow the best we could do was seats right in front of the B stage, and Dublin we haven’t been able to find tickets for yet either.” Niall said. “London and Glasgow we aren’t even seated together, but we plan to see where exactly the seats are and then let Lou have the better one, obviously.”

Hailee was staring at them with a wide smile and her hands clutched to her chest. “You guys! I can’t even believe how _romantic_ this is. Louis out there knowing exactly who his soulmate is, if he could only get Harry to realise they’re fated to be together. It’s so beautiful!”

“That’s a good way to think of it. I just thought it was fucking expensive, but that’s me,” Niall said cheerfully. “Shit. Is this blue?” Niall held up his rucksack and Louis chuckled a little.

“Nah, mate. That’s purple. Kinda pale like, though. Not as dark as some purples can be. You should look up the colour labels online. That’s how I learned the names the easiest.”

“Your bookbag isn’t grey either?” Hailee asked. “Guys, this is fucking weird. Why can’t we see all the colours?”

“And why can I see colours you can’t? Shouldn’t we be seeing the same colours?” Niall asked.

“Okay, I think it’s time for all of us to research a bit. But first, I’m going to shower.” Louis picked up his bag that had his overnight necessities and looked back at them. “You two learn what colours you can see while I get cleaned up and then we’ll talk more.”

Louis jumped into the shower as soon as the water was hot enough and was grateful for the provided shampoo and soap. He’d planned on using his friends’ so he could just bring the required changes of clothes between stops at home.

Harry had been incredible on stage. He was sexy and commanded attention while still somehow being ridiculous and uncoordinated half the time as well. Louis had fully enjoyed the concert even without the added layer of knowing Harry was the one he was best suited for.

That was a thought Louis still hadn’t fully wrapped his head around yet. That the person Louis complimented best in every way was someone so talented and effusive as the man he’d seen perform tonight. That thought was awe inspiring and humbling. Louis just hoped that once they finally met - if he could find a way to make Harry notice him, that is - that Harry wouldn’t be disappointed.

Hailee and Niall certainly didn’t seem disappointed. Louis was incredibly confused about their missing colours though. Obviously they were soulmates, the colours they could see were definitely fully present based on how they’d spoken so far, but missing colours? And for both of them to be missing colours, but different ones?

Louis turned off the water and dried off quickly. He was just as curious as they were to know what they’d found.

Pulling up a pair of joggers, Louis walked back out to the room asking, “What did you find?” only to be presented with Niall and Hailee pulling apart quickly, panting a bit from their compromising position. “Ah, I see. Shall I just...stay in the bathroom a bit longer then?”

Both of them blushed but Hailee said, “Of course not. We just got...distracted.”

Louis smirked and wagged his eyebrows. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Niall threw the shirt Hailee had bought at the concert at Louis before saying, “We learned it wasn’t colour blindness or even discussed in the first four pages of google searching. We did all that before we got distracted, ya fucker. Cut us some slack. We just found each other!”

“I’d be much more likely to cut you some slack if I had at least been able to speak to mine. Until that happens, forgive me, but I’m going to be something of a taskmaster.”

Niall and Hailee’s faces turned from embarrassed to sympathetic and Louis rolled his eyes. That wasn’t what he was going for.

“I didn’t mean to dampen the mood, okay? Let’s just see if we can narrow down what the fuck is going on with you two so we can get some sleep before heading to Manchester tomorrow. We’ve also gotta figure out what we’re doing about the car situation since ours is still at the parked at the arena.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry rushed to the door to let Liam in. Liam was late and he was never late.

“Hey, Li,” Harry said, relieved smile on his face as Liam walked in. “I really like you in orange.”

“Thanks,” Liam said, obviously not paying any attention to what Harry had just said before he continued. “Mitch said you’re acting weird. Why are you acting weird?”

Liam’s eyes were squinted to the point of nearly being shut as he studied Harry. Harry groaned. He’d been doing his best to act normally, but obviously he’d botched that completely if Mitch was curious to the point of talking to Liam about him.

“Because I saw my soulmate last night.”

Liam’s eyes widened so quickly it made Harry wonder if they were going to pop right out. “Oh shit, you did say orange. I just didn’t process what it meant. Okay then. So like...wait,” Liam’s eyes had almost returned back to their normal size when he cocked his head to the side. “Last night like during the concert? They’re a fan? Oh my God, that’s why you were so weird from the start!”

“Yeah exactly. And I mean, I hope they’re a fan. They were there, whether they are or not, though.”

“Fuck,” Liam said as he walked over to the bed and sat down. “Okay, so they definitely know you’re theirs, right? They couldn’t be at a concert and not know at this point, really. And now you know they’re yours! It’s just a matter of finding them again.”

“Yeah, except I don’t actually know _who_ it is, Liam. The colours burst when I was looking to the pit to my left. I don’t actually know which person caused it.”

“Oh shit,” Liam said. “That complicates things.”

Harry nodded. “I was a little paranoid they’d talk about it on social media and that would make things public. I looked everywhere I could, though, and didn’t see anything on Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook. That could have made finding them easier, but ultimately I am relieved they’re allowing me this privacy still.”

“Okay, well that’s good at least. I think that means your soulmate actually cares about you. I’m assuming you want to keep this quiet, if possible?”

“Yeah. I don’t want my team to find out. I thought maybe you and the band?”

Liam nodded, already going into Personal Assistant mode. He typed furiously into his phone. “Yeah, I think it might be a good idea to tell at least one member of security too. I’m thinking maybe Charles. He’s always closest to you and can help if you see your soulmate and know for sure who it is. That way we can find a way to let him know not to lose track of them.”

“God, I just like...want to know who it is.” Harry flopped down onto the bed beside Liam as his phone continued to click. “How do you not get driven insane by the keyboard sounds? That’s always one of the first things I turn off when I get a new phone.”

Liam shrugged. “I don’t even notice it after awhile,” Liam said slowly. “Stop talking to me, it’s making it harder for me to type.”

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled. “I just don’t know what kind of a plan we can have at all at this point, right?”

“Shut up, God. You’re always so talkative first thing in the morning,” Liam said, swatting at Harry before he finally finished typing, locked his phone, and turned. “Okay so let’s think about this logically.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for,” Harry said seriously. “Finding my soulmate and only talking about the logic of it all.”

“I fucking hate you,” Liam said, bottom lip sticking out in a pout. “Why are you my best friend again?”

“Cause I was the only one who could handle you and Zayn being as ridiculous as you were as kids?”

“Whatever. Anyway. They were at the concert last night meaning that if they aren’t from the UK, they’re at least here for the time being. I think the best thing for us to do at this point is just keep monitoring social media to see if there’s any talk about it and wait. Wait and see if you have any further bursts of colour indicating that they’ve made it to another gig.”

“Additional bursts of colour can happen?” Harry asked, surprised. He hadn’t known about that. He’d read a lot about soulmates, but never really about a situation where you see them and don’t know who they are in a crowd. He’d never considered the specifics of it until now, which seemed rather stupid with his career being what it is. “That’s going to be so distracting.”

“Well hopefully we won’t need more than just a couple bursts, right? But yeah, it can happen. I think the follow up bursts aren’t usually quite as pronounced and I don’t think they happen more than once in a few hours? But that’s just what people believe, they don’t have proof of it yet.”

Harry blinked at his best friend. “How the hell do you know about this?”

Liam blushed a little and shifted awkwardly. “My nan saw my grandad several times before he saw her. She described to me what it was like and their thoughts about why the bursts happened when they did instead of every time she’d see him through the shop window as he’d walk past, because sometimes he would several times a day and the burst would only happen once.” Liam scratched at his nose before he shrugged again. “It made me a bit of a romantic about it all and even though I had Zayn, it made me want to learn as much about soulmates as I possibly could. So I did.”

“You never told me about this before, but I’m glad you’re using your knowledge for good and not evil,” Harry teased. “Okay, so just break it to Charles and we can figure out some details about communication, but I’m mostly waiting for another burst to clue me in if they’re back.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Harry took a deep breath. He hoped they’d be back. He didn’t want to have to think about what he might do if his soulmate wasn’t at any of the other shows for this leg of the tour. Not only would it complicate everything, but Harry wasn’t naturally a very patient guy. The waiting for Manchester’s gig tomorrow night was going to be hard enough. He would do what he could to prepare himself, though, and - if he was lucky - by this time in two days he’d know who his soulmate was.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis’ leg bounced as they sat in the queue for the pit. They had arrived early, but there were already so many people waiting. Even more than in Birmingham, so they weren’t sure how close they would be able to actually get.

Niall and Hailee were in their own little world, just like they were most of the time since they’d met. They were great and being as inclusive of Louis as possible, but they couldn’t seem to help it sometimes. Things had been so smooth and natural the past day and a half, it was incredible. Louis felt like Hailee had always been a part of their friends group, she fit that well.

They’d searched almost the entire drive up to Manchester for anything online that would hint as to why they each only had half of the colours, but at this point they’d basically given up. There were some really horrible things written on some websites where people were throwing around cruel language and accusations about people who were this way. Other than those sites that they quickly learned to avoid, they just weren’t finding anything that made any sense. The theory Louis liked best was that they were genetic mutants because they were part alien, but Hailee and Niall obviously ignored any supposed proof Louis offered with regards to that one.

“Rainbow flag?”

Louis looked up from where the three of them had made a bit of a home for themselves and saw an attractive guy wearing what had to be a homemade shirt with lyrics from Harry’s old song _Right Now_ in rainbow colours, passing out handheld rainbow flags further up the line. Hailee had mentioned there was a massive rainbow project that had been organised for Manchester and she was hoping they’d be able to get some to hold up during _Sign of the Times._

Louis watched as the guy smiled widely and moved to the next group in line, offering them flags as well. His accent indicated he was American like Hailee was, and Louis wondered if he was here for school as well.

Louis, Niall, and Hailee were next and when the smiling face turned their direction, he stopped mid-word as his face went slack. “Rainb…” Eyes wide, and chest rising and falling, the guy just said, “Oh wow.”

“What?” Louis asked, before turning to Niall and Hailee. It was then he realised they’d gone silent and were also staring with their mouths hanging slightly.

“That’s why we were missing some of the colours,” Hailee said quietly. “We were missing _you.”_

Louis’ own eyes widened as he looked back at the man who was smiling widely again.

“You mean? You three?”

“I guess so,” the man answered as Niall and Hailee stood as quickly as they could before wrapping the guy up in a big group hug. “My name’s Shawn, by the way.”

“A soulmate triad? I’ve never heard of it before,” Louis mused.

“My dad’s aunt was part of a soulmate triad,” Hailee said from within the arms of her two soulmates. “I don’t know why I didn’t consider it, but she was disowned by her parents and died before I was born, so I often forget. I’ll have to ask my dad what he remembers of her.”

Louis took in that information and watched as they finished their introductions before pulling back from the hug a little bit. Thinking about it now, the lack of (positive) results online made more sense if they were a soulmate triad. Those weren’t unheard of, but they were incredibly rare and not often accepted very openly by most people.

“I’ve gotta try to finish passing out these flags, but once I’m done with this line I’m going to pass the rest off to my friends and come back, if that’s okay,” Shawn said. He looked bright and so happy Louis wasn’t sure he could look at him directly. “I just really want to get to know you better.”

They exchanged phone numbers should anything happen and Shawn left, moving down the line much faster than he had been originally.

“Holy shit, you guys,” Louis said. He was so happy for his best friend. “You’ve found each other! Like, all three of you. That’s amazing.”

Hailee and Niall stared at each other, small smiles in place and affection radiating from them. Louis could only hope that it would be similar for him once he finally was able to meet Harry. _If_ he ever did.

Louis went off into his own little world as he watched Hailee and Niall have a conversation without words, and finally Hailee nodded and turned to say something to Louis when her eyes flicked up and her smile widened.

“Hey, Shawn! Please sit with us. Obviously you’re part of the group now.”

Louis scooted over so Shawn could join them and he looked around the group shyly. “So, as you probably guessed, I’m pretty hard core in Harry’s fandom. If you’re sitting out here as far up in the line as you are, I’m guessing you are too?”

“I am,” Hailee said, her eyes narrowing. “You’re cuddly-hiraffe, aren’t you?” When Shawn blushed and nodded, she said, “We’re mutuals! I thought you looked familiar. I’ve seen your selfies! I’m curlywhirly.”

Shawn’s eyes went wide and he gasped. “Oh my God, I love you! Your blog seriously gets me through some really hard days. I can’t believe I’m meeting you and that you’re...oh shit, you’re my soulmate.” Suddenly Shawn turned to Niall, eyes wide and hand extended. “I mean, so are you! Are you on Tumblr too?”

Niall shook his head. “Nah, mate. I’m just here as wingman for this one.”

Pulled out of his happy little world of observation, Louis sat up straight and looked at Niall. What were they supposed to say? They were trying to keep their search quiet because Louis didn’t really want people thinking he was faking it or anything, but they’d told Hailee almost immediately because she was Niall’s soulmate and now...so was Shawn. But in the queue to be in the pit for Harry’s concert that night probably wasn’t the best place to explain everything.

“Uh, yeah. He’s here cause of me.”

“Oh, that’s so cool,” Shawn said, eyes growing even fonder as he turned back to Niall. “You are such a supportive friend to be here when you aren’t a huge fan of Harry.”

Snorting, Louis began to laugh, because really this whole situation was absurd. They decided to come to these concerts because Harry was Louis’ soulmate. Because of them trying to connect Louis with his soulmate, Niall found not one but _both_ of his. What kind of luck was that?

“What did I miss?” Shawn asked slowly as he looked at Louis.

“Before we get started with that, Niall, what are the odds that both of your soulmates are American?”

“Are you wanting actual numbers, or-”

Niall was cut off when Shawn said, “Oh, I’m not American. I’m Canadian. But don’t worry, I’m used to being confused for one since we sound so similar.”

Louis flapped his hand at Shawn. “Semantics. Just think. If I hadn’t been trying to get noticed by my so…” Louis caught himself in time, but choked on his own spit when he realised what he’d almost said out loud. His heart rate spiked and he was coughing even harder, feeling like he couldn’t catch his breath from the surprise of what he’d almost said while surrounded by so many of Harry’s fans. Face burning and still barely able to take in more than a wheeze of breath, Louis forced out, “My so-long crush, you might not have all three found each other.”

Niall’s shocked face turned into a forced grin as he managed an incredibly disingenuous laugh. “Yeah, your crush of something like an entire two _weeks_ is pretty big.”

“I don’t...get it,” Shawn said. “But you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. It obviously isn’t any of my business.

“No, we can explain. We just have to be...careful,” Louis said quietly. He looked up at Shawn and saw a blush high on his cheeks. He was getting a lot thrown at him all at once for being as young as he was, but he seemed to be taking it pretty well considering.

“Louis has found his…” Hailee looked around as if she was searching for the right word before lighting up and saying, “his rainbow! He found his rainbow, but doesn’t know how to get closer to the pot of gold. So he’s trying to follow the rainbow and see if the pot of gold can see him as well.”

“That feels incredibly condescending, since I’m Irish and all,” Niall teased.

Hailee smacked his arm and said, “You think of something better.”

“I know, I couldn’t. It’s okay,” Niall conceded before giving her a soft kiss. He turned to Shawn with wide eyes. “Is that okay? If I kiss her in front of you?”

Shawn shrugged. “Sure. I think it’s cute. I’ll want in on the action eventually, but we only just met so I’m okay with waiting until at least after the concert,” he said with a chuckle.

Louis felt incredibly awkward being there with them. He wasn’t single, necessarily, but he sure felt it when he was the only one not with their soulmate and these three definitely needed alone time.

“So, Louis found his rainbow and is trying to get closer to the pot of gold,” Shawn said, bringing the topic of conversation back to Louis. His brows furrowed, he leaned closer to Louis and asked, “And your pot of gold brought you to sit in the pit of Harry’s concert when you didn’t really follow him before?”

Louis pursed his lips. This was not subtle at all. Someone was going to overhear them and then they’d get mobbed and everyone would kill Louis in a hysteria over him being Harry’s soulmate and not them and it was all going to be fucked.

“Yeah,” Louis said, trying not to betray the hysteria building up within him. “Sounds pretty ridiculous, right?”

Shawn shook his head. “Not when the pot of gold is promised at the end.”

“That’s the problem though,” Louis said. “It isn’t promised. This might not work. Har- I mean, the pot of gold might not see _me_ even with all my attempts. And what if he does and doesn’t want me? Or what if he does and then he can’t find me afterwards? There’s so many people and I’m just one fan among thousands.” Louis was breathing too hard at this point and he turned to Niall. “This was the worst plan ever, Ni. It’s not going to work. Why are we doing this? We should just save our money and-”

“Hey, stop,” Niall said, gripping both of Louis’ shoulders and looking him in the eye. “I don’t know why you’re freaking out on me now when you’ve been fine until now, but this plan helped me find both of them.” Smiling, Niall nodded at Hailee and Shawn, who were both kindly pretending like they weren’t witnessing a grown man melting down in the queue for Manchester Arena. “It obviously can’t be too bad a plan if it’s already got us that. _And_ it’s for your pot of gold. He’s worth the try, isn’t he?”

Louis closed his eyes and tried to breathe deep and slow his heart rate. The feeling of surprise, excitement, and just the peace that swelled in him when he first caught sight of Harry on his mum’s telly came back to him. Yeah. Harry was definitely worth it.

“Yeah, he is,” Louis agreed. “But maybe we could talk about you three and help you get to know each other a little better now and finish this discussion after tonight’s concert.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry’s chest heaved as he got his breathing under control from his last number. He always got so into the dancing and singing during _Kiwi_ that he had a difficult time getting his heart rate back down for a minute or two after. Well worth it though.

He pulled the towel off his face and was startled to see not only Liam but also Marie, one of the interns who was touring with them and helping Liam with his numerous duties, sitting on his sofa. Liam had a smirk on his face and his eyebrow arched while Marie was fiddling nervously with her thumbnails.

“Hello, you two. Enjoy the show tonight?”

Harry turned around and shucked his suit jacket before he started unbuttoning his striped shirt. He needed out of these clothes and into something cooler and less restricting immediately.

“Shut up,” Liam responded. “It was great, you’re amazing, a legend really, blah blah blah. That’s not what we’re here about.”

Snorting, Harry said, “Yeah, I figured as much. Gonna get right to it, then?”

Liam huffed a sigh and soon Marie started speaking.

“Liam’s had me searching Tumblr for certain keywords and topics, mostly revolving around discussion of your soulmate?” Marie’s voice was shaky and soft, as if she was nervous what Harry’s reaction would be just hearing her mention soulmates. “Well, I found a few things tonight.”

Harry froze with his t-shirt halfway on. He flailed about, a mixture of anxious and excited, until it was finally pulled down past his face. He spun to face Marie and Liam and asked, “What did they say?”

Liam pursed his lips and nodded to Marie, who then handed over her laptop. “They’re the first three windows that are open in Chrome.”

Harry’s heartbeat rose and he could feel it thrumming through his limbs as he read the posts.

 

> **_catfishau:_ ** _Sooo I’m in the pit queue and I s2g this guy next to me thinks he’s Harry’s soulmate_
> 
>  

Harry clicked on the next window and found it was the same blogger with another post.

 

> **_catfishau:_ ** _LOL he’s talking in really shit code but he’s definitely talking about being Harry’s soulmate asdkfjhkfjhdf_
> 
> _he’s really good looking fuck_
> 
>  

What if this person was next to his soulmate? What if they knew what they look like? It sounded like the possible soulmate in this case was male, which did make Harry’s search a little easier, but he now had _so many questions._ What did he look like? Was he going to be attending London as well? Would he be in the pit again? Was his soulmate on Tumblr?

Harry went back to the first tab and then the second to check and see how many notes both of the posts had. They were in the thousands and it had only been a few hours. Oh God. He wasn’t sure if he was excited about this or scared to the point of being sick.

Clicking on the third window, Harry saw the post was a response to an ask and it was a different blogger.

 

> **_Anonymous said:_** _Have you seen the posts catfishau has been making about the guy who might be Harry’s soulmate? Do you believe what KK is saying? Do you think it could be true? Basically I just want your thoughts on all of this cause I trust your opinion._
> 
> **_srslycris answered:_ ** _I think it’s highly unlikely that he is! I mean, stranger things have happened, but it’s probably wishful thinking on his part._
> 
> _But KK says he’s a cutie, so I wouldn’t protest if Harry noticed him, that’s always fun :) Is anyone from Tumblr nearby to give him the “list of things that get Harry’s attention”? LOL!_

“There can’t be an actual list of things that get my attention during concerts, could there?” Harry asked. “I mean, I don’t really have a usual type of person that I tend towards pointing out during concerts or anything. Right?”

“Yes, you do,” Liam and Marie answered in sync.

Pouting, Harry said, “I thought I did quite well with mixing it up.”

“You do...unless it’s a dad, gay man, or pregnant woman. In which case you will always choose them,” Marie said with authority. It was the first time since this conversation had begun that she’d sounded confident.

“Is that really all you have to say about these posts?” Liam asked. “I mean, I don’t think they’re anything to worry about. That blog post that was a response to the original two is from a big blogger in the fandom. She holds sway with people and if they kind of tend towards her thoughts, then we are good to go. So far that’s what we’re seeing. But…”

Liam’s voice drifted off, and Harry could practically see the gears inside Liam’s brain working to pull things together.

“Oh my God,” Harry said. “You want to send this catfish person some asks, don’t you?”

Shrugging, Liam said, “She could give us some good information. Make it a little easier to pick him out in the crowd, if she was actually talking about your soulmate. Did you have any indications of them being there tonight?”

Harry nodded quickly. “Yeah. It was in the right pit, this time. Not the left, like in Birmingham.”

“So we don’t really have anything to lose,” Liam said. “What do you think? We won’t do it unless you give us the go ahead.”

Harry nodded and gave the laptop back to Marie. “Yeah. See what they’ve said so far, if there are any further details and such not only about physical appearance but also about future concerts he’ll be attending. Depending on what they’ve already got, send some anonymous asks. Any information will help.”

Marie nodded and left, hopefully to get started sending the asks. Harry was getting more and more restless to figure out who his soulmate was. It was the worst kind of feeling to know he’d been close by and Harry still hadn’t found him.

“So Marie knows. How many others?”

“Not many. Marie and Laura have been helping me with keeping tabs on social media and then Charles of course. You had him keeping an eye on the pit?”

Harry nodded. “There were several guys in the pit tonight, though, and they weren’t very close to the stage. The lighting and effects made it difficult for me to really see faces clearly since they were near the back. There were some towards the front as well, but it wasn’t them. I made eye contact with them and nothing happened. It was when I was scanning the crowd that the burst happened, just like last time too, so I didn’t really have a hope of figuring out who might have caused it without eye contact.”

Harry threw himself down onto the sofa beside Liam and groaned. “I feel like I’m never gonna find him, Li. It’s going to kill me if I know he was that close and I never actually figure out who it is.”

Liam wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulled him in close for a cuddle.

“You’ll find him. I know you will. What if it happens again and you still don’t know who it is, you tell Charles and we can offer a surprise meet and greet or something?”

Harry thought it over for a minute. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he groaned into Liam’s chest. “Why didn’t I think of that earlier? You’re a genius. We’ll tell Charles about that plan in the morning and he can plan accordingly.”

With a better back up plan in place, Harry slept better that night than he had since before the tour started.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Fuck,” Hailee said.

Louis was about to give a snarky answer regarding what he knew she, Shawn, and Niall had got up to the night before when Louis was so kindly offered Shawn’s room so they could have some privacy, when she looked back up from her phone and right at Louis.

“I think someone figured out what we were talking about last night while we were in line.”

“But we talked in code,” Niall said, mouth full of eggs.

Louis snorted. “Not a very good code. And I kind of had a freak out halfway through. And we kept almost slipping up. If someone was listening in, I’m sure it would have been easy enough to figure out.”

“How bad is it?” Shawn asked, pulling out his own phone so he could scroll his dash as well. Louis was tempted to pick up his as well, but then he remembered he didn’t have a Tumblr account and would therefore not be able to help much.

“Not bad, but a lot of people are talking about the possibility of Harry’s soulmate being in the pit last night. Everyone’s looking at Harry’s body language and shit.”

That got Louis even more curious. “What are they saying?”

“They don’t think anything has changed. He was still just Harry and a big goofball rockstar on stage.”

“I dunno,” Shawn said. “KK is answering some asks. She’s getting hounded, as you could imagine, since she’s the one who talked about us.”

“Wait. KK was there?” Hailee’s eyes were wide and she smacked the table lightly. “Shit. I was near KK and didn’t even realise it. Now I’m bummed.”

“Yeah, except she’s also the one who talked about us,” Niall said. “Isn’t she the bad guy?”

“No,” Shawn said with a snort. “KK is awesome. She’s also not giving any details about what was said, what any of us in the group look like, and all that. She’s being really great about our privacy, actually, and is starting to get sassy since people won’t give up.”

“She’s always sassy. That’s why I love her,” Hailee said. “She’s going to London, right? Course she is, that’s where she lives. We’ll have to try to actually meet up with her while we’re down there.”

Shawn nodded and started typing, probably in a message to this KK person.

“I’m not sure I want to meet the person who also now knows I’m trying to get Harry’s attention?” Louis was sure she was perfectly nice and, if she’s got as much attitude as Hailee and Shawn said she does, they would probably get along well. He was just incredibly nervous about how people would think of him when they realized he’s meant for the man they were all there to see perform.

Shawn reached for Louis’ hand and squeezed it. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I’m just here for you,” Niall said with a shrug. “And them now too, but mostly I’m still going to the concerts for you.”

“Do we have tickets for night one of London yet?” Louis asked. “And Shawn, what were your concert plans?”

“Oh, I only had tickets for Manchester.” Shawn put his phone down and looked at Louis with a smile. “It took most of my savings just to move over here for school, so that’s all I could afford. But I’m going to travel around with you guys and just wait at the hotel during the shows.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Louis said. “You’re a bigger fan than me or Niall.”

Niall said, “Right? That’s what I said.”

“It isn’t possible for me to be a bigger fan of Harry than his soulmate,” Shawn said, pointing with his knife before going back to his pancakes. “Good try, though.”

Niall shook his head with a fond smile. “We tried to convince him to take my ticket, but he wouldn’t let me. And Hailee found us tickets for front row B stage for night one.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Louis said. “I feel like I need a sign saying _look into my eyes_ or something, but that feels incredibly creepy.”

“Wear a sheer shirt or something. That’ll get his attention real fast,” Shawn said, winking.

“What? No way,” Louis said, wrapping his arms around his midsection. “I’m not shy or anything, but I’m going to stay covered for a concert, thank you.”

“Your decision,” Shawn said, laughing.

Breakfast went fast enough, and then they headed out. They were stopping by Niall and Louis’ place to get a better selection of clothes and necessities before heading down to London. It was going to be a long day in the car, and the sooner they got it over with, the better.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Harry, why do you look like you’re about to strangle someone?” Mitch asked.

“Because I might,” Harry said with a sigh. “Come give me a cuddle?”

Mitch rolled his eyes, but moved from the chair he was sitting in to the loveseat where Harry was. Harry immediately tipped to the side and forced Mitch to shift so they were laying as best they could on the tiny sofa.

“There was this person on Tumblr who overheard my soulmate talking about trying to get my attention in Manchester and we’ve been asking questions but she won’t answer them. Which is great, I’m actually really happy she’s so protective of his privacy, but at the same time come on! For fuck’s sake, I’m having a hard time finding him and I’d really like to be able to have some clues as to what he looks like and shit.”

Mitch laughed and petted Harry’s hair just how he liked. Off days should always be spent cuddling with his hair being played with.

“Well at least now you know your soulmate is a man. That’s a good starting point.”

“I guess,” Harry said. “It would be even better if I knew like where he’d be sitting in London so we could get him a backstage pass or whatever and get this moving. Having him so close and yet _not here_ is driving me crazy.”

Mitch hummed and Harry pouted a little bit longer.

“What are you going to do when you find him?” Mitch asked.

Harry looked up at Mitch in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Rolling his eyes, Mitch pinched at Harry’s belly with his free hand and said, “What are you going to do? You’re in the middle of a world wide tour, Harry. I’m assuming this soulmate of yours has a job and a lease on an apartment and all kinds of shit like that. Are you just going to meet him and then have a Skype relationship for the next five months until tour is over?”

Harry opened his mouth, but shut it quickly because he honestly hadn’t thought that far. He’d been so focused on just finding his soulmate once he realised they were close, that he hadn’t thought about what would happen after that point.

Covering his face, Harry groaned. “Why is this so fucking complicated? Can’t we just skip to _happily ever after_ already?”

“It’s worth it, though. Look at Adam and Emi. They’re apart a lot while he’s on tour too, but they make it work.”

“Yeah, but they didn’t have to worry about getting to know each other while he was traveling, did they?” Harry shot back. Ultimately, he knew it would work out and be fine, but he didn’t want to have the chance to finally meet his soulmate only to then be separated. “Maybe I can fly out to see him during breaks?”

“We’re going from here to Australia and Asia and then South and Central America and then North America,” Mitch said flatly. “You have breaks in there, but you scheduled them so you could have time to rest up between legs. You’re exhausted, I know you are, and you need the chance to breathe. You won’t have that if you’re constantly adding travel time to your schedule to spend a few hours with your soulmate.”

“I hate you,” Harry said.

“I know. And yet, here you are forcing me to cuddle you. I can feel the contempt rolling off of you.”

Harry stuck out his tongue and then Sarah walked in.

“H, maybe you could save Liam from having a heart attack and show yourself? You’re almost late for the fitting that has to be now so you aren’t late for your meeting with the label this afternoon.”

“Fuck,” Harry groaned as he sat up. “Thanks, Sarah.”

Putting on an awful English accent, Mitch said, “Thanks, Mitch. You’re always such a great person to talk to and cuddle with and get a scalp massage from. I love you so much, you’re the greatest.”

“Fucking hate you, wanker,” Harry said with a laugh as he swatted at Mitch’s stomach. “Practice safe sex! Use a condom! And remember, Mitch, consent is sexy!”

Their laughter followed Harry to the hall and helped carry him down to his fitting. It didn’t make him feel any better about his soulmate situation, though. He hoped he’d find them soon so they would have time to work out how the next several months would go before Harry left the UK. He was on a bit of a strict timeline, and he didn’t want to miss his chance.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis knew the seat was good. Logically, for it to be first row B stage, of course it would be. But it was something different when Louis watched Niall go off to get to his seat near the back of their section and Louis kept walking further down. And down. And then finally stop at the row indicated, right in front of the metal bars. Louis apologised to the few people he had to walk past in his row, and then once he sat down he finally looked up and that was when it hit him.

The pit was great and all, it was the best place to be close to Harry and see him in a way that just wouldn’t translate to camera, but where Louis was sitting tonight was on a whole different level.

“Holy fucking shit,” Louis said quietly as he stared at the B stage.

There were a few rows beneath him, probably technically floor seats, but those wouldn’t be seen as easily from the level Harry would be stood at while actually performing. At least, that’s what Louis was banking on. His seat tomorrow was along the aisle Harry walked down to get to the B stage, so hopefully if Harry saw him tonight and was caught off guard, he would be able to find Louis easily enough again tomorrow.

“It’s really close, isn’t it?”

Louis turned to his right to see a girl with bright pink eyeshadow and curly brown hair sit down beside him. She was with a blonde girl who offered him a small smile before turning back to her phone.

“Yeah, it is. I knew it would be, but it’s different from actually seeing it, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely. I wonder if he’ll be able to see us?” The girl looked down at Louis’ lap and saw the rainbow flag draped across his lap, and she smiled brightly. “Oh! He’ll definitely see us if you plan to wear that or wave it or whatever while he’s down here. He always points out the flags when he sees them.”

“Must be pretty hard to pick them out of the crowd while everything is still grey,” Louis mused.

The girl shrugged and said, “Maybe. But I can always see them clearly, just because the stripes make them stand out against everything else. Do you have your colours, then?”

Louis bit his lip and decided what the hell. He might as well admit to it. “Yeah. Seeing the flag with colours for the first time was pretty incredible. You’ll be amazed when it happens for you.”

Smiling, his neighbour just said, “Yeah. I hope so.”

They continued to chat until the show started, and it felt like Mabel’s set and the wait for the beginning of Harry’s took far longer than the first two times had.

Finally, Harry was on stage and just as amazing as he had been before. When _Meet Me in the Hallway_ started, Louis did his best to feel ready for it and took deep breaths. He and his new friend Jenna had secured the flag to the metal railing in front of them and were hopeful it would pull Harry’s attention to them. They weren’t directly in front of him, but they were nearly so, and Louis felt an energy tonight that he hadn’t at the first two shows.

Harry started making his way down the catwalk, and Louis watched the people on the floor rush to get closer. He was taking his time tonight, taking flowers and flags as he made his way closer to Louis. In the outfit he was wearing, Louis mused that he looked a bit like a sparkly Prince Charming. He couldn’t complain about the comparison too much, as long as Louis really was his Cinderella.

Harry handed everything over to the bodyguard before climbing the steps and then Louis’ breath caught.

Technically he’d been closer to Harry before, but there was something about the view and the angle that made him feel like Harry was standing right in front of him and somehow within his reach.

Harry put the guitar strap over his shoulder when it was handed to him, stepped up to the microphone, and then he looked up and Louis’ world flooded with colour again that he knew wouldn’t fade this time.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry felt the air rush out of him and he stared at the man in front of him. The one who was undoubtedly his soulmate.

Harry had finally found him. The colours had rushed back in, but not just for a pulse as it had felt before. They stayed this time, and Harry had never seen anything so beautiful as the man in full colour standing before him. He was directly behind a rainbow flag, eyes and smile wide, and Harry couldn’t help but give himself a moment to take him in.

The catfish person whose posts Harry had read earlier had been right, Harry’s soulmate was incredibly fit. His brown hair was styled in a messy fringe and as Harry’s eyes scanned further down, he saw the man was wearing a black shirt. Harry couldn’t tell for sure, not yet, but when the light from the light hanging above the B stage hit him right, it looked like the shirt might just be sheer.

“H, you ready?”

Harry startled when he heard Mitch and realised he was standing in front of thousands who were waiting for him to perform again.

Right. Harry gave a tight smile and then nodded to start the song _Sweet Creature._ He’d always liked the song, a depiction of Liam and Zayn’s love story, but had never truly identified with it before. As he sang the song directly to the man in front of him, he wondered if maybe he would, given time spent with his soulmate. He hoped so.

The song ended, and Harry realised it was time for some playful chatter, but his mind was blank. How could he possibly tease some of these amazing people who were so supportive of him when he knew that his soulmate was right in front of him? Not only that, but if all went as he hoped it would, that he would finally be able to talk with him and hold his hand and love him for the rest of his life, starting from the moment Harry got off stage.

Clearing his throat, Harry got back to work and somehow made it through the talking points and _If I Could Fly,_ once again singing the song to his soulmate, and then he was making his way off the B stage.

Leaning into Charles’ ear, Harry yelled, “I found him.” Pulling back just enough to be sure that Charles understood what Harry meant, Harry saw the man’s eyes widen and before he gave a quick nod. Harry leaned back in and said, “He’s the one just to the left of where I was stood, behind the rainbow flag on the lower tier. Brown hair, black shirt, standing next to the girl in the green dress with the curly hair. Please don’t lose him.”

Charles gave another quick nod and then immediately began speaking into his wrist microphone that connected him to the rest of his team before Harry turned and made his way back to main stage. He never wanted to rush through a show, but tonight he hoped the crowd would forgive him. He really needed to finish so he could freshen up and meet the man he’d hopefully be with for the rest of forever.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis hugged Jenna one more time.

“It was so much fun meeting you,” she said before she pulled back. “I can’t believe he stared right at you the entire time he was on B stage!”

Louis laughed halfheartedly before he lied. “Yeah, me too.”

In truth, his heart had been racing ever since their eyes had met and Louis had realised that not only had Harry seen him, but Harry finally knew who he was. It was a relief in some ways, but also he was incredibly confused because now what was he supposed to do? Just go and find Niall and Hailee then head back to the hotel where Shawn was waiting for them?  Hope that Harry would be able to contact him somehow tomorrow?

Rolling his eyes at the fact that their plan had never got past the point of getting Harry to see him, Louis turned and started making his way to the end of the row so he could climb the stairs up to where Niall was.

Louis had just reached the end of the row when a large man in a black shirt who Louis recognised as a member of security stopped him.

“Excuse me,” he said, with a small smile that didn’t help him seem any less imposing. “I’ve been sent to invite you backstage.”

Louis’ eyes widened and he turned to look for Niall. Niall was staring at him with an excited smile.

“Ehm, is it okay if my friend and one of his soulmates joins us?” Louis asked it and then fear flooded his veins. What if he said no? Why did Louis ask that? What if Harry wanted to be alone the first time that he and Louis actually got to speak to each other? Oh God, why did Louis even ask that?

Probably because he was scared out of his mind and he just really wanted his best mate there with him.

“Of course. Harry said you could bring anyone who is here with you.”

Louis let out a breath and smiled. Good.

And it was then he realised something else he had never considered until now. What kind of a person was Harry? Louis had never even questioned it, the only thought in his mind was to get to him. But now, Louis found new fears coming to his mind in a sudden onslaught. What if Harry was incredibly cocky? What if he was conceited and holier-than-thou and disappointed that Louis was...well...Louis? He certainly wasn’t anything special, being a secondary school teacher from Doncaster.

“Hey, Lou. What’s going on?”

Louis looked up at Niall and tried to push his fears to the side. “Oh! Uh, it seems that we’re going to get a chance to meet Harry,” Louis said. Looking around, he was glad the arena had emptied fairly quickly. “Let’s go find Hailee and then we can head back?” Louis said, almost like he was asking permission of the security man beside him.

The man nodded and indicated they should lead the way.

Louis nodded, but otherwise remained quiet as they found Hailee and the man Louis now knew was named Charles lead them into a hallway marked _staff._ It was fairly quiet considering how many people were rushing around, and Louis wondered if it was always like this or if it was calm since they would be performing at the same venue the next night.

Charles soon had them stopped by a room that had a small laminated sign beside it that said _H Dressing Room_ and knocked.

“Come in,” Harry said, and then Louis realised it was actually happening.

The door opened, Louis was nudged forward, and standing on the other side of the room, tucking in his t-shirt, was Harry. Louis couldn’t move. He was frozen, in shock he was finally in the same room as his soulmate and they could actually speak to each other.

Harry’s face broke out in a massive smile, and he came walking forward, pausing right in front of Louis. “Can I...do you mind if I give you a hug?”

Louis felt something within him loosen, and he felt like he could breathe fully in a way he hadn’t been able to before. Almost like his lungs had been restricted and since that was how it had always been he’d never known they had as much capacity as he was now able to experience. It made him feel a little light headed in the very best of ways.

“Of course,” Louis said. “Bring it in. I love a cuddle.”

Only then did Louis realise how tense Harry had been. Had he thought that Louis would actually say no to his request?

All thoughts stopped when Harry lunged forward and completely enveloped Louis in his arms. Harry was a full body hugger. Some people would lean forward so they barely touched you despite the fact that hugs were meant to be a physical sharing of space, leaving you feeling like it might have been better if you’d just shook hands. Harry moved forward and slotted himself together with Louis so his arms were wrapped around Louis’ waist and they just...fit. There was an energy and fire burning through Louis’ veins as well, and he didn’t know if it originated at the first point where Harry touched him or if it was an all over sensation because he was so fully encompassed by Harry. It didn’t matter in the end.

Especially when Harry whispered, “I am so happy I finally found you,” right into Louis’ ear.

Taking a deep breath, Louis said, “God, same. So incredibly happy.”

Louis allowed his eyes to close and forget that anyone else was there with them. He just soaked up Harry. Harry who, honestly, was still slightly smelly from the performing he had just done, but had at least tried to wash a bit as well as change his clothes. He still had an air of peppermint and cologne surrounding him, though.

He was also softer than Louis had expected. He wasn’t sure why, maybe it was because Harry had such a personality on stage and in interviews of almost being untouchable, but Louis had thought him to be pure muscle. He was incredibly strong, and Louis could tell that from the way he moved as well as his fit body, but he felt as if Louis could just fall right into him as well. Cuddle up beside him and be comfortable there for the rest of forever.

“I’m sorry, Harry, but I have to tell you that you need to leave in the next twenty minutes. You have that party the label set up you have to make an appearance at.”

Louis pulled away from Harry and turned to look over his shoulder. There was a man with large, apologetic brown eyes and short, cropped hair standing in the doorway.

“Shit,” Harry muttered, reaching a hand up and raking it through his curls. “Thanks, Liam. I’d forgotten. Did Lambert leave the outfit I’m to wear?”

They were no longer embracing, but Louis liked that Harry had found ways to still have their touch linger. First his hand had stayed on Louis’ hip, but as Louis turned to more fully face Liam, he’d dragged his arm down Louis’ and taken hold of his hand. Louis hoped that was something that would continue. He liked the feeling of physical connection.

Liam and Harry continued to talk and Louis kept watching Harry. He could hear Niall and Hailee somewhere talking to each other, but they didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was Harry.

Who was now talking to Louis again.

“Can I have your number? I hate that I have to go to this, but it is required.”

Louis blinked. Right. Phone numbers. Those would be really great to exchange.

“Oh my God,” Harry said with a laugh. Louis had his phone in hand, but looked up to find Harry’s eyes shut and a hand on his forehead. “I can’t believe I have to ask, but I don’t even know your name. This is like the worst soulmate introduction ever, I’m so sorry!”

Louis began laughing as well, because really he had entirely forgotten about the fact that they truly did not know each other. Everything Louis knows about Harry he learned about online or from Hailee and Shawn. Harry hadn’t had that luxury.

“You have a beautiful smile. It lights up your entire face,” Harry said softly. His fingers rose and touched the skin beside Louis’ eye gently.

“My name is Louis Tomlinson, and if you want to put in your number, I can text you.”

Harry’s eyes continued to roam Louis’ face for another moment before he lifted his hand to take the phone. Only then did their hands disconnect, and Louis couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He didn’t need to, though. Harry quickly shifted his stance so his elbow hit Louis’ upper arm. Louis was immediately soothed.

“Here you go,” Harry said, holding the phone out. “You’re more than welcome to stay, but I’m going to mostly be freshening up and changing clothes before getting rushed out of here.”

Louis looked back at Niall and Hailee who were watching them with soft smiles.

“I think I’ll just head back to the hotel with them and we can text when you’re able, if that’s okay?”

Harry nodded. “Of course. But I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. You’ll definitely see me tomorrow.”

Harry’s smile made both dimples go deep, and Louis wasn’t sure how, but he felt even lighter than he already had before.

“Be sure to text me,” Harry said as Louis walked backwards toward the door.

“Promise,” Louis said with a wink. Then he turned around and with his two friends walked to where Charles was waiting to escort them out.

 

*~~***~~*

 

_William. December twenty-fourth. First saw you in an interview a few weeks ago on telly. Oldest of seven kids. Best mate Niall is part of a soulmate triad who only found each other because of our quest to meet you. I’m a teacher and I love it, but on my bad days I wonder if I did it only to prove a teacher who told me I’d never amount to anything wrong._

Harry was in a crowded room surrounded by people whose arses he should be kissing, but instead he was tucked up against the bar, nursing a soda water, texting Louis and finding out as much as he possibly could about him. Harry wasn’t going to apologise for finding his soulmate more interesting than the room of rich, old, stuffy men he was currently stuck in.

Not only had they been having a non-stop texting conversation that was mostly just an exchanging of facts, but they also figured out that Louis along with Niall, Hailee, and Shawn would all come to the arena around lunch tomorrow. That way, they’d be able to hang out with Harry and get to spend time together in between the various interviews, meet and greets, soundchecks, and so on that Harry needed to get done.

Harry’s phone buzzed while he was scrolling through and rereading some of Louis’ responses to questions, so he scrolled back down to where Louis had just sent a message.

 _Louis: Okay, I know this is really soon to talk about, but you being YOU makes me feel like it needs to be brought up so I’m just going to dive right in_  
_Louis: How is this going to work for the rest of the time you’re on tour, Harry?_ _  
_ _Louis: Of course I support you, and I was still planning on coming to see you in Glasgow and Dublin, but then you’re off to Australia and Asia and America. Will we just text and hope for the best?_

Harry blew the air out of his cheeks. This was exactly what he’d been wondering before with Liam. He was glad they were talking about it, and so soon. He felt like they might stand on more secure ground if they knew how seriously they were both taking this.

 _Harry: I’ve seen long distance relationships work. My bassist has a wife and kids at home, and he does the best he can to try to help them keep their relationship strong._ _  
_ _Harry: I’m in this. I’ll do that too. I can’t promise the calls will be worth much, but I would like to try to talk on the phone every day, even if it is just a goodnight and good morning and then hanging up. I want to do Skype dates when we’re able. I want to see you whenever I’m able to fly back to England between legs._

Harry took a deep breath, and then continued typing.

_Harry: Ultimately, it is going to be hard. But you’re worth it. You’re my soulmate. I want to do everything I possibly can to make sure you know I’m constantly thinking of you and that I care about you even when we aren’t together or even in the same continent._

Harry had to shove his phone quickly into his pocket as a few other record label execs walked up to him and required his attention. It was at least twenty minutes later before finally they let Harry out of the conversation and he motioned to Liam to call for the car.

Pulling his phone back out, Harry saw Louis had sent a couple of messages in return.

 _Louis: Alright, Harold. You’ve convinced me to give this a real shot._ _  
_ _Louis: I guess even pop stars need love ;)_

Harry smiled. Their cards were on the table and it felt good. _Right._ He supposed it should, considering they were made for each other, but everyone grew up hearing the stories about soulmates that were bad for each other. That perpetuated bad habits and eventually tore each other apart. It was always a fear in the back of Harry’s mind that his might be like that, but after just a few hours of getting to know Louis he already had a feeling that wasn’t the case.

Liam walked back in and nodded to Harry, who then started to make his rounds before he could officially leave and try to get some sleep in preparation for spending the day with his soulmate. He couldn’t wait.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“You’re sure you guys are okay with spending all day there? I know we were planning on showing Hailee around the area by uni some more,” Louis said, worried he was putting them out.

Shawn gave Louis a deadpan look and said, “Louis. Your soulmate is Harry fucking Styles, the man that two of us are balls deep in fandom for. We are definitely okay with going and spending the day with him and his band.”

Hailee and Niall burst out laughing as soon as Shawn said _balls deep in fandom_ and Louis couldn’t really blame them, but he really was wanting to make sure they were okay with not seeing more of London than the area surrounding the O2.

“Mate, it’s fine,” Niall said, wrapping Louis in the hug he knew was needed. “Just let us finish getting pretty for your rock star and then we can head over.” Niall pretended to fluff up his hair and pat at his cheeks to get them a little more rosy which only made Hailee swat him.

“You’re already beautiful. Both of you,” Shawn said, coming over to give them each a kiss. “I’m so glad I found you.”

They started getting even more sappy, which Louis really couldn’t handle at the moment. His stomach was flip-flopping and making him worry the cereal would have been safer than the eggs and toast he’d had.

He and Harry had ended up texting until around four in the morning, and Louis was regretting it now that it was ten. Harry was addictive, though. And Louis worried that it wouldn’t be quite the same once they got to be with each other in person for longer than a few moments.

Louis’ mind wandered to the chat and all the photos they’d sent back and forth of their families and growing up, the stories from school and their work, etc. Sooner than Louis expected, Hailee came over and waved her hand in front of his face.

“Louis? We’re ready if you are. Let’s get you to your man.”

Louis blinked and realised it was nearing eleven. He had zoned out for over thirty minutes, which was insane, but he supposed he did have a lot of information to process. His life was in the process of changing and very quickly. He would need time to come completely to terms with it.

“Think they’ll let me play their guitars?” Niall asked as they walked out of the hotel room. “I should have brought mine after all.”

“You play guitar?” Shawn asked. “I do too! I love guitar.”

That got the three of them all talking about their favourite music and singing, and Louis was glad they were distracted enough to leave him alone. He just wanted to ride the Tube in his own world as he worked to force down his nerves about seeing Harry again.

Once they’d got off the Tube and were walking toward the arena, Louis’ phone vibrated. Expecting a text, Louis was surprised to see Harry’s name flashing on the screen with a phone call.

Louis cleared his throat and then swiped to accept the call. “Hey, Harry. We’re just walking up to the arena now.”

The other three went silent when they heard Harry’s name, and Louis rolled his eyes before sticking his tongue out at them.

“Oh, great! I’ll send Liam out to get you. I just finished with my long meeting and am about to head to an interview, but that shouldn’t last longer than around fifteen minutes or so.”

Louis smiled and took a deep breath. Harry’s voice was enough to loosen the worry that had settled deep in his stomach and make his heart start to race.

“Okay. I can’t wait to spend some time with you. Like, in person,” Louis admitted. He almost tried saying it quietly so the others couldn’t hear, but it was pointless. They were so attuned to him and what he was saying he knew they’d hear it no matter what. “I also can’t wait to be as disgusting as these three are. Just wait, Harry. It’s sickening.”

Harry laughed at the same time Hailee said, “Awwww!” and smacked messy, wet kisses on each of the boys’ cheeks. “We’re gross! We’ve reached goal status, guys!”

Louis rolled his eyes. “I hate all of you. You’re officially uninvited from the wedding.”

“We’re getting married, huh?” Harry asked, and Louis could hear the smile in his voice. It was amazing how he could already read Harry when they’d known each other for so little time. “I guess I should schedule time off for that.”

“Yes, please be sure you do,” Louis said, with a faux haughty tone. “Okay, you should get to your interview. Where is Liam going to meet us?”

Right as Louis asked, Liam came walking out of the arena towards the doors they had just walked in.

“Oh. Hey, Liam! Good timing,” Louis called.

“Shit, I’m late. I’ll see you soon, babe!” Harry made a kissy sound into the phone and the line went dead.

Louis blushed at the pet name, and put his phone back in his pocket. Today would be interesting for sure.

Liam quietly led them back and when they walked back through the same door they went through the night before, Louis was amazed at how different it seemed today. It was far more calm and he could hear yelling from down the hall.

“Oh my God, is that Louis?”

Louis saw a man in jeans and an Ohio State t-shirt jump into the hall and start walking towards him them. “Shit, I fucking love you. Please come save us, I can’t handle Harry anymore, he’s gone too far!”

“You are too dramatic, Mitch! Don’t scare Louis away!” a woman was heard yelling after him, but that didn’t stop Mitch from walking up to their group and surveying all of them before pointing at Louis and saying, “It’s you. I know it’s you. Fuck, thank you so much for existing.”

Louis stopped walking when it became apparent that Mitch wasn’t going to stop walking. Mitch walked right up to him, held his face in place, and kissed his forehead before pulling him into a tight hug. Louis awkwardly patted the man’s back a little.

“Uh, nice to meet you, I think?” Louis said with a little chuckle.

“Harry has been driving me insane but oh my God,” Mitch was talking faster and faster into Louis’ ear, and Louis hoped he would continue to be able to understand the man who also was apparently American. What was with all these Americans (and Canadians, he supposed) suddenly surrounding him? “I don’t think I slept last night because he forced his way into our room and wouldn’t shut the fuck up. He got in bed with me and Sarah so he could keep talking, and normally I don’t mind an extra cuddle, but Louis. It was four am. I am beyond myself. Please save me and never leave us.”

Louis looked at Liam with wide eyes, who looked like he was doing his best to hold in his laughter and was failing. What was Louis supposed to do with this guy? Louis wasn’t sure if Mitch was being over-dramatic as claimed by the faceless woman earlier or if he was serious.

Without warning, Mitch stood back up to full height and looked at Liam. “I know you’re laughing at me, but I also know for a fact that you pretended to be asleep and didn’t answer your door and that was the only reason he ended up in my room. I will never forgive you. You’re on the permanent shit list.”

“I thought I already was because of the poker game a few weeks ago,” Liam said, no longer trying to hold back the smile.

“We are never to talk of that!” Mitch said loudly. Mitch took a deep breath before turning to Louis and the other three with him, seeming much more calm. “Anyway. We are glad you’re here, and I swear I’m not always this bad. Come on, Clare and Sarah are really excited to meet you.”

Louis nervously looked to Niall, who gave him two thumbs up and a wink, then followed Mitch and Liam to the room where they’d be waiting for Harry to finish his interview.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry walked down the hall and paused outside the door to take a quick breath. He actually got to have Louis with him for the rest of the day, and he was an exhausting and exhilarating mix of scared out of his mind and the jittery kind of excitement. He was just about to go in when he focused in on the voices on the other side.

“Shawn, what if we were to make that first chord an A flat in the first line of the chorus?”

There were guitars strumming and Harry didn’t recognise the song or the voices speaking, but then he heard Sarah say, “You’re going to get along perfectly, then, because Harry is definitely a cuddler.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he barged through the door. “Are you giving away all of my secrets, then?” His cheeks burned with embarrassment. He never should have trusted his band to meet his soulmate when he wasn’t able to be there to monitor it.

Sarah gave him a fond but exasperated look before saying, “I’m not the one you should be talking to. A certain sleep deprived someone practically accosted Louis before he even made it to the room.”

Harry covered his face and groaned. “I swear, I’m so much cooler than they are making me sound right now.”

“Doubt that, mate. You are _his_ soulmate, after all.”

Harry peeked through his fingers and saw Louis’ Irish friend from the night before smiling widely at him.

“Excuse you,” Louis said, apparently as horrified with how the day had gone so far as Harry was. “I have officially demoted you from your position of best mate! I accept Shawn in your stead.”

“What about me? God, I’ve known you longer than he has,” the girl sitting with Clare complained.

Louis turned to Harry and offered him a tight smile. “Hi? Good morning or afternoon or whatever. I’m going to ignore them now. How did the interview go?”

Harry chuckled a little before shoving himself between Louis and the armrest. “It was fine. Just another interview.” Looking around to where the two men with guitars had started up again and Clare was back to chatting with the other girl, Harry asked, “So Niall’s the Irish one, right?”

“Yeah, and Shawn’s writing a song with him now apparently while Hailee talks natural face masks or some shit over there with Clare.”

Harry nodded, but he wasn’t going to lie. Names were nice, but he was having a hard time ignoring the warmth and tingles that were emanating from where their arms touched each other.

“So how many awful stories did they tell you?” Harry asked, focusing on Louis again. He needed to know how much damage control was needed.

Louis looked up to the ceiling and his smile pursed a little, like he was trying to hide his amusement. It wasn’t working very well, but Harry enjoyed the attempt.

“Not much. Just that you’re a talker and a cheeseball and a massive nerd and a cuddler. All of which kind of also apply to me, so I think you’re safe.”

Harry hummed and was distracted by the slight scruff showing on Louis’ cheek. It defined his jawline and cheekbones in the perfect way to make Harry want to touch. Kiss. Maybe lick just a little. Dragging his eyes back up to Louis’, Harry found Louis observing him in a similar manner which made him smile. He needed to get Louis away from the others, if for no other reason than he wanted to be able to be with Louis without feeling like someone was watching his every move.

And, well, maybe because he wanted to be able to fit in a cheeky snog before sound check later.

Leaning into Louis’ ear, Harry gave a quick glance around and whispered, “Wanna go somewhere a little more quiet?”

Louis shivered at the brush of Harry’s breath on his neck and nodded. “Let’s go.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

**_Five Years Later_ **

Louis tucked Jayne back into bed once he’d finished helping her on the potty and checked on Annie. Annie was a sound sleeper, thank fuck, because heaven only knew her older sister wasn’t.

Louis eased their bedroom doors shut and hustled back down to the living room. He was worried he’d missed the surprise that Niall and Harry had both been excited about. It was just past three in the morning and Louis was going to pay for this tomorrow when the little ones demanded his attention and energy, but it was important. Important enough that Niall had set up a live stream of Harry’s entire concert using the band’s instagram to help with maximum exposure of the moment.

Not long after meeting each other, Niall, Shawn, and Hailee started a band they called SoulMat3s. They were signed to the same record label as Harry, and with two songs in the top twenty and their debut album coming out in two months, they were also Harry’s opening band for his current worldwide tour.

The worldwide tour that would be ending next week and finally, after far too long, Harry would be coming home.

Louis unmuted the feed where it was projected to the telly, and found Harry was making his way down to the B stage. Louis had asked him before if he ever got tired of that walk and if he would consider just having a main stage in the future. Harry had only reminded Louis that without the B stage, they might have never met and therefore the B stage would always be an important part of his show. Louis did appreciate it, and also loved how Harry saved his most personal and loving songs during his tour for the B stage.

Once Harry had climbed the stairs for the smaller area and put on his guitar, Harry cleared his throat. “I’m going to be adding something special here tonight, and for that I am going to need someone to join me on stage. Please welcome one third of SoulMat3s, Hailee Steinfeld!”

Louis could hear Niall and Shawn both cheering from where they were holding the phone, and it shook a bit. What was going on? Was the surprise a duet?

“Today is a very special day for me, for many reasons. Today is the anniversary of when I met my soulmate. Music brought us together, and therefore the best way I know to show him how much I love him and how much he means to me is by singing a song especially dedicated to him. But today also marks our being apart for twenty-eight days, which honestly is a travesty. We’ve never been apart this long, and I miss him. So while I sing a song that is special to us and dedicate it to him, I hope you will think of those who are special to you and send them your love as well. Love is love and you should all embrace each other; express that love every day.”

Harry turned to Hailee, who had come on stage wearing a gorgeous rainbow jumpsuit. She smiled and nodded, and Harry turned back to the microphone and said, “This is _You’re Still the One_ , originally by the incredible Shania Twain.”

Louis had his hand covering his mouth as the tears flowed down his cheeks. He could barely see clearly, but he could feel the power of the song that Harry and Hailee sang together as Louis at in their family home and watched from an ocean away. This had been the song they chose for their first dance at their wedding. It was the song playing in the background when they learned their adoption had been approved. It had been the soundtrack of the past five years of their lives, and now Harry was singing it, his own voice thick with tears, and it was the most beautiful gift Louis had ever been given.

As the song came to a close, Harry looked towards the camera, and smiled, mouthing _I love you._ Louis closed the live stream, knowing this was the moment Harry had wanted him to see. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he could at least lie in their bed, hugging one of Harry’s favourite jumpers that hopefully still smelled like him.

Once Louis was comfortable, he picked up his phone and sent Harry a quick text with an accompanying photo.

_Louis: You’re still the one I kiss goodnight._

When Louis woke up the next morning, it was to an Instagram alert from Harry’s public account. It was a ridiculous photo of Harry wearing pink sunnies captioned only Kissy.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please consider leaving kudos and a kind comment to keep me smiling as I continue trying to write fics to entertain all of you :D Also, please consider reblogging the fic post, which can be found [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/178625324788/i-only-wanna-give-you-love-18k-by-lululawrence).


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